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Good Riddance
Good Riddance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Daphne has just inherited her mother's yearbook from the class of 1968 at Pickering High School in New Hampshire. That year her mother was not only the English teacher, but also the yearbook advisor. Mrs. Maritch has gone to every reunion and each year she has added notations to the yearbook to all of the students. Daphne has no need or room for the yearbook in her small New York City apartment, so she puts it in the recycling. A neighbor who is also a budding documentarian finds the yearbook, and is determined to make a movie with her findings. When Daphne finds out a dark secret at the 50th reunion they attend, she will stop at nothing to make sure the yearbook is not made public. With family secrets around each corner, Daphne will try her best to keep her mother's legacy in tact and her father's heart from being broken.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I remember the thrill of getting my yearbook from middle school all through high school and having all of my friends sign it. I don't think that I ever had or even wanted any of my teachers to sign it though. And I've been to one or two of my reunions and I surely didn't go back and makes notes on what everyone is up to now.

This was a quirky story that had quite a few different elements in it. A little bit of romance, some mystery, and an annoying neighbor. Daphne is newly divorced and trying to find her way in New York City. Her apartment is small and there isn't any room for much more than her. She is going to school to be a chocolatier, but that's not really working out. She tries going back to teaching at Montessori school which she did before she was married. But with the contents of the yearbook and rumors about her mother maybe reaching the public Daphne's plate seems to be overflowing. Can she keep her mom's legacy alive and keep herself from going crazy at the same time?
  
Good Girls Lie
Good Girls Lie
J.T. Ellison | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
9
7.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Goode School is an elite prep school in Marchburg, Virginia. Each class contains only fifty girls, hand-picked by Dean Westhaven herself. The school has been in the Dean's family for generations. The girls all go on to college--mostly the Ivies--and are the daughters of the rich and elite. Goode is filled with traditions, rumors, haunted tunnels and arboretums, and secret societies. Coming to Goode from England this year is Ash Carr, now Ash Carlisle. Ash's wealthy parents are dead and Goode gives her a chance to start over without the notoriety that follows in her home country. But soon, a student is dead at Goode. She apparently had a secret--and she isn't the only one.

I am a total sucker for a good boarding school mystery. Add in the fact that this one is set basically in my backyard, the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, and it's written by one of my favorite authors, J.T. Ellison: I'm all in. GOOD GIRLS LIE didn't disappoint. This was a captivating thriller that kept me frantically flipping the pages of my Kindle. I didn't know who to believe, what to believe, or what on earth was going on. And I loved it.

The book opens up with a death--a body is found hanging on the school's gates. From there, the story backs up, and you are left guessing, wondering if Ash is a reliable narrator or not. For a story that features teenage girls, it's surprisingly adult and dark.


"Of course, there are a few people who know exactly who is hanging from the school's gates. Know who, and know why. But they will never tell."


This is a mystery filled with juicy backstories and gossip. The town of Marchburg has a storied past, and I found myself caught up in all of it. The Dean and her mother--twisted past. An old incident at the school--twisted past. Ash and her family--twisted past. Do you see a pattern emerging? Around every corner, a new dramatic turn emerges. If you like your thrillers with lots of drama and surprises, you'll enjoy this book. It's different, dark and twisty, and quite good. 4.5 stars.
  
S.T.A.G.S (S.T.A.G.S, #1)
S.T.A.G.S (S.T.A.G.S, #1)
M.A. Bennett | 2017 | Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book, and it really didn’t disappoint.
It starts off with us finding out that the narrator, Greer, is just starting at a new and extremely prestigious school called St Aidan the Great School or S.T.A.G.S. for short. We find out that Greer was lucky enough to win a scholarship for the school and took it so that her dad (a wildlife cameraman) could go to Chile to film in bat caves instead of turning the job down as he had been doing previously. Things aren’t plain sailing for Greer though, as she finds that the other students (including her roommate) aren’t the most welcoming or friendly, and as a result of this spends the first term quite lonely and keeping herself to herself. That is until she gets an invitation pushed under her door, and it’s an invitation that will change her life forever. The invitation comes from the most popular group in the school, who also happen to be the prefects or the “Medievals”. Pleased to finally have a chance at friendship, and with her roommates persuasion that it means she will become a Medieval next year, Greer takes up the invitation to spend three days at the country house of one of the most popular boys at school.
When Greer arrives, she is surprised to find two other people have also been invited and is surprised since she thought the Medievals disliked them as much as she’d thought they disliked her. What then follows is three days of hunting, shooting and fishing. And also three days of “accidents” and the three “unpopular” students teaming up against the six Medievals.
This book was thrilling from start to finish, and one of those books that you really don’t want to end because you are enjoying it so much. I enjoyed that Greer referenced movies so much, as the two main passions in my own life are books and films. With each film she referenced, it solidified the picture in my mind of the scene that was going on around her.
A definite 5 stars from me! And I cannot wait to read the sequels!
  
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Kate (493 KP) rated Taking The Reins in Books

Oct 20, 2020  
Taking The Reins
Taking The Reins
Katrina Abbott | 2014 | Romance, Young Adult (YA)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
For a young audience (0 more)
I liked the blurb on this book but as I started reading I realised it was intended for a much younger audience but I continued anyway. I like to read a book and give an honest review. Some may read the review and decide it is a book they would like to read. It is based in an all girls school and from Brooklyn's first interation with her soon-to-be soon friends I expected the worst. This could be because I am an old reader and know how life, books, tv shows and films usually go. The girls in these books, etc can usually be bitchy and end up being mean to each other espcially when they have a new girl at the school. Brooklyn is the new girl. Due to my expectations of how I thought the book/story was going to play out I was always on edge.
It was a story of realtionships - friendship and romantic relationships. It was nice for the book to end up being a nice story. It was nice to see girls working together and there was a good sense of camaraderie.
I wasn't gripped and this could be because I was not the target audience. The book is part of a series and it would of been nice to have a book prior to this to get a feeling of How Brooklyn used to be. She does try to explain what the old her would of done/said in situations and what the new Brooklyn did/said but I couldn't get a real feel of how she used to be. But the series is called the The Rosewoods so all books would have to be based at the school.
As this was part of a series the story ended up abruptly. I thought it may of ended at the end of the school year but no it ended before Halloween which is not lomger after school starts.
This is a great book for a young audience of I would say early teens.
  
    Arthur's Big App

    Arthur's Big App

    Education and Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    School’s out at Lakewood Elementary School and that means it's time for an after school adventure!...

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Books Editor (673 KP) shared own list

Nov 27, 2017
Any of us without the knowhow might be totally lost if it weren’t for the talented writer-scientists who take the time to pen popular science books about their respective fields.

These are the best in popular science from the past year – books that will enlighten, entertain, terrify and make you feel bad about how little you remember from school.

The Times UK team travels from our ancient past to a robotic future:


Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins

Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins

Garry Kasparov

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

In May 1997, the world watched as Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player in the world, was...


computing technology science biography
This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor

Adam Kay

9.0 (44 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Adam Kay was a junior doctor from 2004 until 2010, before a devastating experience on a ward caused...

Face Value: The Irresistible Influence of First Impressions

Face Value: The Irresistible Influence of First Impressions

Alexander Todorov

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The scientific story of first impressions--and why the snap character judgments we make from faces...


psychology science
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Max Tegmark

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A.I. is the future of science, technology, and business - and there is no person better qualified or...

What Doesn’t Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude and Environmental Conditioning

What Doesn’t Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude and Environmental Conditioning

Scott Carney

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A New York Times bestseller Our ancestors crossed deserts, mountains, and oceans without even a...


science
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Art Teacher in Books

Jan 12, 2018  
TA
The Art Teacher
Paul Read | 2016
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
With an opening line of “<i>Patrick Owen managed seven years at Highfields Secondary School without punching a pupil in the face</i>” you just know this is going to be an “interesting” read and it doesn’t disappoint.

Full review on my blog: <a href="https://readingstuffnthings.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/the-art-teacher-by-paul-read.html">Reading Stuff 'n' Things</a>
  
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Andrea (28 KP) rated Shadow Kiss in Books

Aug 18, 2017  
Shadow Kiss
Shadow Kiss
Richelle Mead | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.9 (31 Ratings)
Book Rating
High energy (1 more)
Climactic
Possible damage to your book (0 more)
Keeps you on your toes
You know how all books have a midpoint climax that changes everything? This is that book in the series. Between high tension activities at her school, mental stress, and an ending that will make you throw your book against the wall and cry in turn, you will be sucked in.
  
One For The Money (Stephanie Plum, #1)
One For The Money (Stephanie Plum, #1)
Janet Evanovich | 1994 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Mystery
10
7.7 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
A desperate Stephanie Plum takes a job as a bounty hunter for her cousin. And her first job? Tracking down her former high school boyfriend turned cop. A bit raunchy at times, but a fast paced and humorous series opener.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/03/book-review-one-for-money-by-janet.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.